Celadon City Trainer
by Emolsifier
Summary: PILOT: A young man has been saving up his money for the past few years. His goals are simple, become a top notch pokemon trainer whilst training a big badass dragon. Life however


Celadon City Trainer Pilot

**A/N:** This is meant as a test run of a fanfic I've been working on for quite some time. I've gotten the majority of the plot laid down and the ending is in sight. I am not the best with words and to put it plainly I believe I've made a mistake in using a present tense first person for this. Despite this I am putting this pilot out to gauge how much the perspective distracts from the story. I would deeply appreciate feedback so that I might continue making progress on the story.

* * *

My name is Sheldon Norsemann. I'm a 16 year old student living in Celadon City with my parents. I've always been a big fan of pokemon training. Not that I've ever gone on a pokemon journey. My parents forbade me from leaving at the tender age of 10. I've been trying my best ever since my 10th birthday to keep my spirits up about leaving someday or at the very least getting my own pokemon. Now today's my 16th birthday and also the day I've been saving up for.

The streets of Celadon City are known for a number of things. It's not just that the city has the largest department store east of the Plateau or that it's home to the only gambling circuit this side of the seafoam islands. It's that it's dangerous to go out on the streets. If you were to go out I'd suggest you deck yourself out in clothes that'd scream "I'm poor and got nuthin'." That's exactly what I'm wearing: A simple well worn hoodie with a collection of holes and frayed edges over an old Rock-its band shirt with a pair of weathered jeans. The hood is down because I'd rather have peripheral vision over looking like a crestfallen street urchin.

I'm headed towards the game Corner, the Colorful slot machine place that the city is so well known for. Even now as I walk I can sense the area getting quieter as I approach the place. It's been this way ever since word got out that Rockets operated the game corner. Sure it's now a private owned place with no connection to the rockets but there's still this aura about the place. Kind of like how pokemon won't enter the marked territory of another pokemon. I've walked through this part of town for the past 6 years, It's almost become a second home to me. While it is endearing it is also a place that taunts me with a prospect left unfulfilled… until today.

The Game Corner stands amidst a swath of bars and restaurants. The streets are only sparsely walked by the inhabitants of the city and trash seems to pile up within this area of town. The Game Corner's Flashy pink lights and sunset orange walls beckon to me. I can almost feel the subconscious urge to rush in there and play a game with….

"No… I can't do that…" I murmur to myself as I rein in my thoughts. I've always sworn that the building had a vague psychic field around it that tempted persons within the area. I mean the Game Corner doesn't look as nice as it did back in the day and with the other casinos in town it's a rather childish alternative nowadays. Despite this the humble place manages to outdo the other venues by leaps and bounds.

"Psychic Advertising…" I mutter to myself as I resume my walk to the slot house.

The interior is awash with the sounds of slot machine sounds. The flashing lights and cheerful sounds give off this marionette façade of fun. Just as I'm walking in I can hear the sounds of someone screaming in excitement before a storm of applause follows it, someone has won big today. I smile at the thought as the subtle temptation of playing creeps in. I shake it off, resolving to do my business and get out.

"Welcome to the-"starts the man behind the counter with a guise of cheerfulness about him before he looks up. It takes him a brief moment to process who I am before, "Oh… it's you…" he drawls as the cheerfulness seems to drain like a watercolor left out in the rain.

This is Reggie. He's the guy that owns the game corner. He's an alright fellow. He's on the portly side but that may be me being polite as he's got quite the distended belly. His fat features are usually kept relatively clean in that black suit and tie he's always in. His hair is graying with age and thinning I might add. He has taken to wearing a cap to hide this fact which clashes with his otherwise formal attire. I smile at him and that thought,

"Yup", I confirm as I approach the counter. It's all so routine now, our exchange,

"Back for another round of coins that you're not going to use?" he grunts before readying my normal 50 coins that he knows I'm going to purchase in a moment. "6 years I've seen you in my place and not once have I seen you at one of my slots." This is only partially true. I once found a single coin on the ground and decided to use it in an attempt to whittle down the number of coins I needed for my goal. I hit the jackpot of 300 coins and left it at that. The cruel thought that I could deposit a few more coins to shorten the time by winning big again nearly won out that day. The thought of losing my hard work had been strong enough to dissuade me but it had been an agonizing decision…

"That's because I know better." A dry chortle comes from Reggie as I place ten 100 pokedollar notes on the counter. He pushes the coins across the table as he claims the money. I swipe the coins from the counter into a bag brimming with more coins.

"Know better, hah, if you really knew better you wouldn't have blown your cash here." I breathe a laugh, the man's right. 92,000 pokedollars had been spent to obtain 4600 coins. That's a good amount of money. It's a good thing I had just given Reggie the last installment to reach that goal of 4600 coins.

"On the bright side Reg, Today's going to be the last you see of me." Reggie lifts a brow as he takes in my statement. He grins at me before nodding,

"I should have known. So what've you been saving up for?" My eyes drift up towards the poster behind Reggie. There on the aged piece of propaganda are the prizes with the coins needed to purchase them. They hadn't changed from the rocket days but that's probably some kind of branding deal. Abra at 180, clefary at 750, nidorino at 1200 and Pinsir at 2500. My eyes stop at the next one. Dratini at 4600 coins.

"A dragon trainer in the making?" he jokes when he spies my choice. A visible blush comes over my features at the mention of dragon trainer. Lance has always been my absolute favorite. He's always the guy who trainers talk about as the one to beat. Sure it's cool to get past the other 3 but lance is the real test of strength. That's how I've always seen it. That and he raises dragons for a living! It's impressive to command the powers of earth and martial arts, Ice and snow, and the domain the dead but to be in control of living myths is up there on my list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket.

"Yeah well" "Heh, Go get that little dratini already " He says with a smirk. I begin to bounce towards the doors. When I get about 2 feet from the doors I take a moment to compose myself as I quickly force myself to act dejected. It wouldn't do to lose all my hard work because I let my defenses down for a moment. Slouching and mustering a frown I make my way out towards the prize area. I need to appear to be some disgruntled youth who'd been cheated out of his money and time. Dignity can stow it I want my pokemon!

* * *

The prize area is a small shack of a building. There are no guards here except for the ever vigilant eye of a camera. It sways to look at me as I approach the doors in. They slide open to reveal a rather dank and unpleasing looking interior that's dimly lit and cramp. I enter the prize area. The interior is dominated by the obvious counter that confronts you the moment you're inside. The ceiling is low but that's probably to accommodate the bulletproof glass installed above the counter. Three windows are situated in the glass with slots to deposit coins. There are a few posters situated above each window indicating which ones dish out which prize. To say the least this is my first time within the Prize area. I mean with the poster in the game corner I never needed to visit. The sheer difference in size makes me feel claustrophobic in more ways than one. I head for the middle window where the sign clearly states that it will dispense a dratini when given the coins.

"Welcome to the Prize Corner!" sounds a computerized voice from beyond the counter. "We thank you for your patronage. Please deposit your coins in the slot provided." The slot looks very imposing. A drain would be the most appropriate word. A sudden panic overcomes my senses as I realize that if I jam the machine I might not be able to retrieve my coins. Pulling out my coin bag I proceed to carefully drop the coins into the machine one at a time. The clinking and clanking of the coins down the slot fills me with pride and dread as the reality that those coins aren't mine hits me. I shake off the feeling with thoughts of owning a dratini as I shakily deposit the last coin.

"You have deposited, Four-six-zero-zero coins" burps the computer, "please state the pokemon you wish to acquire!"

"Dratini, please." "…" the machine remains silent despite my request. Feeling anxious I repeat my request,

"Dratinit! Please!" This time the machine apparently hears my request,

"Would that be a, Dratini?" it askes.

"YES!" I yell out. The machine whirrs slightly as a small pokeball is ejected out of the slot I'd put the coins in.

"The Rocket Game Corner Appreciates your support, Enjoy your prize."

Walking out of the prize Corner I can't help but feel euphoric. 6 years of saving up money and doing odd jobs and all of it culminating in the pokeball in my hand. It feels good to have the weight of it in my hand. The good feelings flood my senses as I begin the walk home with more zeal than ever before. I chose to hold it in my hand until I got home, no way a pickpocket's snatching it out of hands now!

The familiar streets fly by in a blur that is until I got a few streets from home.

* * *

130th Eagle Street. That's my address and it's also near the eastern area of town. The pokemon center is only a few streets down from us. Because of how close we are to the center we usually have at least 1 trainer knocking on our door looking for a place to stay the night every month or so. Our house is a fairly large house and thus we don't mind. Dad's been suggesting that we open a bed and breakfast or something but mom's against the idea of having our home become our place of work. she argues that it's not right to have my childhood ruined by a bunch of rowdy trainers. Of course it wouldn't work out because we only have 1 guestroom open.

The house is a 3 story house with an attic. The siding's a cream color with sheer white picket fence enclosing what little lawn we have. A dark grey roof has been over our house since we got it with brown widow fixings. Our front door is brown too or should we say unfinished. The previous owners had left it unfinished because they had liked the look and dad hadn't gotten around to painting it a more suitable color.

I hurry in, not wanting my little pokeball to be stolen again. I can hear the neighbors growlithe barking from the window as I enter my lawn. I stare daggers at the little annoyance. The blasted thing attacked me my first day on the block. My dad had to save me with the garden house that day and ever since I've been in a blood feud with the evil hound.

I pass through my front door with a twinge of triumph as I deprive the wretched dog of its target. I can still hear it barking but now it's muffled by the plaster walls and siding. The long corridor of my home smells of something in the oven but also of my mother's beloved scented candles. It's a familiar detail of our house that brings me some comfort that my parents are home. The streets of Celadon are writhe with the smell of exhaust and cigarette smoke and thus the pleasing smell of her candles is a great relief.

"Hey honey!" calls my mother from the kitchen, "How was school today?"

"Great!" I call back, "mom, I got the pokemon today!"

"What?" She replies with a confused tone. She must've not heard me right.

"I got it today! I got the pokemon!" I hear the sudden clattering of kitchenware and the sound of hurried steps. She rushes into the hallway with the widest grin on her face,

"6 years of saving and working for this!" I smile at the thought that this is going to be that moment; I grip the ball tightly before maximizing the little thing. The ball inflates to its full form with a resounding click as the locking mechanism pops out. The click sounds as if the ball's asking me to open it.

"Well what are you waiting for, open it?" I look up at my mother in surprise; I guess I must have gotten distracted by the moment. I quickly wonder how I should release it, the standard throw or the button press. I fumble the sphere around until I get my thumb on the lock,

"Here we go!" I exclaim as I unlock the ball. The little sphere explodes in a flare of light and sound. My mother and I shield our eyes as the light show envelopes the room in a stark shower of white. We cautiously blink through the remnants of the light as it begins to subside. I take a good look at my new pokemon. My mouth falls open at the sight of it.

I had been expecting blue, I'd been expecting small, I had been expecting dratini! That's not what stands before me.

With its black and gold scales and purple markings it didn't take me very long to realize that this wasn't a dratini. I could feel a migrane coming on as my mind rejects the sensory input my eyes are taking in. It is snake shaped at least, with large blood red fangs and a worrying tail blade. Its gold crested head swings around as the two red eyes on its head scans the room. Let me also say that it's friggin' huge. The hallways not exactly spacious but my mom and I are feeling very pressed for space with it in the same hallway.

My mom and I are both in shock. The snake finally spots me and my mother before it jumps back, putting the wide blade of its tail between us and it. We jump back ourselves at the sudden motion ourselves, fearing that it means to slice us open. The two of us freeze up as we wait for the other side of the hallway to react. I'm cowering in fear as my mother stands tall behind me. Her hands are in a death grip on my shoulder with her arms tense to throw me behind her. I stare at the pokemon in terror.

That's when my eyes focus on the big scythe of a tail in front of me. The red sheen of the tail is marred by gouges that interrupt the red band. I also pick up that the tail is… vibrating. I trace the length of the snake back to its head to realize that it's shut its eyes on us. I stop cowering at the snake as it hits me that the pokemon's terrified of us. I'm still scared out of my pants but at least I'm thinking straight.

"Mom…" I stammer out as her grip tightens around my shoulder. I wince before continuing, "I think it's scared of us."

My mom looks down at me before looking at the pokemon. Her brow is littered with lines as she jerkily moves to look at the creature. I can see the realization come over her as her features gradually normalize. We both relax slightly as I gingerly step forward to calm down the frightened pokemon,

"It's okay, it's okay…" I coax, hoping that those old westerns and horse racing movies had it right. The pokemon cracks open one of its red eyes to look at me from behind the tail blade. As I take a step forward it shivers violently before whipping its tail. I fall onto my butt as the blade whips about. "Whoa there… whoa…" now I'm scared…

My mother shrieks as her arms go up. I glance back unsurely to see that she's trying not to look but all the while straining herself to see if I'm alright. I scurry backwards away from the tail before getting up, no sense in decapitating myself is there? Gathering myself up onto my feet I try to think of someway the two of us can get out of there safely. "Quick the ball!"

I blink before looking down at the pokeball. I frown at my foolishness. Duh! The first thing a trainer would do if his pokemon were to misbehave or attack him would be to return it! I point the sphere at the pokemon before... oh jeez I didn't know how to return it!

"Squeeze it!" instructs my mother in a frantic tone as she watches me and the snake at once. With a hiss the pokemon starts for the kitchen, "Hurry!"

Squeezing the ball the little device reacts with a small red beam. Cutting through the air, the little laser beam strikes the pokemon's long body. It jerks in response as its body fizzles violently before an envelope of red light drapes over it. Having its captive under control the beam retracts back to the locking mechanism. The ball almost cheerfully withdraws to its smaller form as it falls out of my hands.

My mom and I stare the marble sized pokeball for a while. I'm the first to snap out of our stare as I walk over to the ball and snatch it up.


End file.
